QUENTIN HIT AS OFTEN AS HE HOMERS

Quentin’s two-run homer in Oakland Saturday afternoon gave him six in 48 at-bats as a Padre. He also has 13 RBI and 11 extra-base hits in 14 starts.

Since joining the Padres in Chicago on May 28, Quentin has hit .417 with a .541 on-base percentage and an .896 slugging percentage.

But are pitchers beginning to exact revenge on Quentin? Saturday also marked the fifth time as a Padre — the fifth time over his last 10 starts to be exact — that Quentin has been hit by a pitch.

Is Quentin concerned with the trend? Does he think he has become targeted?

“Not yet,” he said after the Padres’ 6-4 loss in Oakland. “I haven’t seen that yet this season. I’ve been hit with a lot of inside breaking pitches so far.”

Quentin has always ranked among the major league leaders in being hit by pitches. He was hit 24 times last season in 483 plate appearances — or once every 20.1 plate appearances. He has been hit by 102 pitches in his career — at a rate of once every 24.4 plate appearances.

But the rate this year is one HBP every 12.2 plate appearances.

“A lot of it has to do with the way I try to get away from pitches,” said Quentin. “My first priority is to protect my hands. I don’t move my body quite as quick. I expect to get hit because of that.”

“There is no question how important Carlos is to our offense,” Padres manager Bud Black said recently. “He’s a force by himself. And he makes everyone around him better.”

Trading zeros

The A’s didn’t have a hit until Seth Smith hit a solo homer with one out in the fourth. However, starting with Smith’s homer, the A’s went 5-for-8 with a sacrifice bunt until Ohlendorf came out down 3-0 with two out in the fifth.

“I thought Ohlendorf’s first 50 pitches were great,” said Black. “He kept the ball low and made effective use of his fastball and slider. But the ball started creeping up later in his outing to where the A’s took advantage of it. But I saw more good than bad.”

“My command was really good early,” said Ohlendorf. “The last two innings were not as good. Not only did the pitches come up, they moved toward the middle.”

Ohlendorf is the 12th starting pitcher employed by the Padres in the season’s first 66 games. The franchise record for starting pitchers used over the course of an entire season is 15.

He allowed three runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings. He issued two walks and had three strikeouts.

Forsythe improves

Second baseman Logan Forsythe went through a series of baseball drills Saturday morning at what Black said was “between 70 and 80 percent.”

But the strain in his right side isn’t allowing him to play yet. If Forsythe were playable, Jesus Guzman would not have gone into Saturday’s game at second base after pinch-hitting for Alexi Amarista.

“Hopefully, if he continues to feel good, we can ramp him up,” Black said of Forsythe. “He tells me he’s fine.”

“Much improved,” said Forsythe of the injury that has kept him out of four games.

Black understands

Black said he was not disappointed to hear starting pitcher Anthony Bass say he has “lost his confidence” after Friday night’s loss to the A’s.

“He was being honest,” said Black. “It happens to most players at some point of their career. One of the functions of being a successful athlete is believing in themselves. But it’s not easy when things aren’t going well.

“I understand. I’d rather have a player answer that question honestly rather than say ‘everything’s great.’ ”

Minor notes

Right-handed pitcher Micah Owings was to have made his debut as a pitcher Friday. But he felt some pain in his forearm as he started to prepare and was pushed back. Owings has been out since April 26 with a right forearm strain.